St Helens Recover To Beat Spirited Bradford

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St Helens (4) 26


Tries: Wright, Sironen, Sailor, Feldt, Cross Goals: Hastings


Bradford (10) 22


Tries: Ryan, Wynne 2, Ackers Goals: Hooley


St Helens recuperated from an early second-half deficit to tape a hard-fought Super League victory over Bradford Bulls.


The hosts found themselves 12 points behind simply after the break, but ultimately protected the points thanks to a Deon Cross try in the final 5 minutes.


Earlier ratings from Shane Wright, Curtis Sironen, Tristan Sailor and Kyle Feldt helped see off the Bulls, who played the bulk of the second half with 12 males after Eliot Peposhi's termination.


A 3rd straight win moves Saints level on points with second-place Warrington, while Bradford remain fifth having won 2 and lost 2 of their very first 4 video games back in the top tier.


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This was the first Super League meeting in 12 years for the two sides, who contested the competitors's Grand Final in 1999 and 2002, and showed to be a gripping struggle.


Wright's third shot of the season put Saints in front early on but the visitors reacted remarkably to lead by the break.


A best grubber kick from Luke Hooley set up Ethan Ryan to level ball games up, and Hooley then kicked his side in front after David Klemmer was sent out to the sin bin in his 300th career look.


The Bulls made the extra male count, and repeated through Connor Wynne to extend the lead to 6.


At the other end, Esan Marsters produced an tackle to stop the hosts levelling things up.


A wonderful breakaway score from Wynne gave the Bulls a 12-point lead shortly after the restart, before the St Helens fightback began.


Tries in quick succession from Sironen and Sailor - the previous validated following an evaluation - brought the hosts back level and when Peposhi was sent moments later it looked as though there would just be one winner.


Feldt's score certainly suggested it would be one-way traffic, only for the Bulls to take benefit of a Saints sin-binning - this time for Joe Shorrock - and go in front again through Andy Ackers.


The Bradford backline stood strong for almost 10 minutes, including forcing the ball out of have fun with St Helens looking particular to score in the corner thanks to the work of five protectors.


Cross, nevertheless, slipped through in the closing phases to protect the win, and extend the Bulls' wait for an away success at Saints to 17 years.


St Helens head coach Paul Rowley:


"I believe we've got a bit of character in the team, so that's good to see. All of us think that's a non-negotiable, but it's not always obvious in all teams, so that box is ticked.


"I think we have actually found a method to win in regards to we've got a sprinkling of how I 'd like us to play.


"It's getting significantly challenging with all the pieces in all the locations that we have actually got, however we are scoring some tries and digging deep."


St Helens: Sailor; Feldt, MacDonald, Cross, Murphy; Whitby, Hastings; Delaney, Clark, Klemmer; Sironen, Wright, Shorrocks


Interchanges: Host, Robertson, Whitley, Stephens


Bradford: Aekins; Wynne, Marsters, Blake, Ryan; Hooley, Milnes; Chamberlain, Mellor, Fulton; Sutton, Ackers, Lewis


Interchanges: Doro, Douglas, Hallas, Peposhi


What's Next?


Both of these teams remain in Challenge Cup action next week.


St Helens go to Castleford on Saturday, 14 March (18:00 GMT), while Bradford travel to Super League table-toppers Wigan Warriors on Friday, 13 March (20:00)